Daily Prayer

Saturday, 17 November 2012

Aristotle on Moral Development

“…Aristotle, an ancient Greek
philosopher, taught that cultivating proper habits is crucial to one’s
moral
and intellectual development. According to this theory, a virtuous person is,
among other things, one who has made intentional choices and who has engaged in
purposed activities that enable him or her to both grasp:

What it is to be
courageous, generous, temperate, and the like, and

To actually live
courageous, generous, and temperate lives. Do we really believe that young
people who spend six or more hours per day playing video games in which they
sexually assault and physically mutilate other characters will not be
negatively affected by such activities on at least some level? …”

Comments

Ironically Aristotle was partly responsible for the kind of left-brained patterns of thinking that came to characterize and dominate Western philosophy and specifically Western science. Even much of its religion. For instance Aquinas was very influenced by Aristotle's philosophy.

To Aristotle every interaction in Nature or in the mind of Man could be logically known and explained via precisely defined rules of cause and effect and linear logic. In his approach there is no possibility for paradox, inexplicable mystery, or ecstasy.